San Francisco supervisors OK Treasure Island plan

Supervisors approved a gigantic redevelopment project for Treasure Island that includes 8,000 homes, 140,000 square feet of retail space, and high-rises as tall as 450 feet.

The Board of Supervisors voted 11-0 Tuesday to approve the project under a plan that's been nearly 15 years in the making.

The project would take 20 years to remake the 400-acre site of an old Navy base in San Francisco Bay, which currently has fewer than 2,000 full-time residents. Groundbreaking could take place as early as next year.

Developers called the unanimous vote a victory not just for them but for members of the community who have been waiting years to see the island's potential realized.

"Now we can move forward to begin the actual work of transforming Treasure Island into one of San Francisco's premiere communities, one that sets new standards in sustainability while creating good jobs and providing people from diverse backgrounds a safe and inviting place to live and work," the development team, Treasure Island Community Development, said in a statement Wednesday.

The project calls for the creation of a new neighborhood with parks, shops, school and ferry terminal, as well as $1.5 billion in infrastructure improvements to ensure the manmade island can withstand earthquakes, tsunamis and rises in sea level.

Board members rejected arguments by the Sierra Club and other groups that the project would harm the environment and increase traffic problems on the already congested Bay Bridge, the only way to reach the island by car.

The current plan, which includes one parking spot per residential unit, doesn't do enough to encourage residents to take public transportation, said Michelle Myers, a spokeswoman for the Sierra Club's San Francisco Bay chapter.

"We're certainly not against the project, but it needs to be true transit-oriented development," she said Wednesday.

Mayor Edwin Lee applauded the board's action, calling the Treasure Island plan a job-creator that will "create hope for families who want to stay in San Francisco and will be a boost to our city's long-term financial health."

The board is expected to take a second, procedural vote on the project next week.